Anthony Smith questions whether the friendship between Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili is going both ways: “What I’ve seen is Merab ride hard as s**t for his best friend”

By Harry Kettle - March 15, 2023

UFC fighter Anthony Smith has questioned whether the friendship between Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili is too one-sided.

Merab Dvalishvili, Al Iaquinta and Aljamain Sterling

Last weekend, Merab Dvalishvili earned the biggest win of his career as he completely outclassed Petr Yan. In doing so, he put himself firmly in line for a shot at the UFC bantamweight championship.

However, much to the frustration of UFC president Dana White, Merab doesn’t want to fight his friend Aljamain Sterling.

There’s every chance that could change in the future. If it doesn’t, though, you’d have to imagine Sterling will have to move up to featherweight in order to accommodate Dvalishvili’s title desires.

In the mind of Anthony Smith, something seems a bit off regarding the dynamic between the two pals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKanHCHaITM

“I think that this has to be kind of a mutual thing,” Smith said. “And it’s gonna be some hard conversations, but if Aljamain is as good of a friend to Merab as Merab is to Aljo – and that’s the thing, I don’t know that I’ve seen it go both ways. What I’ve seen is Merab ride hard as s**t for his best friend. I haven’t always necessarily seen it go the other way for Aljo, maybe he’s just not – well I’m not saying they’re not, I’m just saying I haven’t seen it.”

Quotes via MMA News

The Sterling/Dvalishvili dilemma

There does seem to be a genuine bond between these two fighters. With that being said, the relationship could get a bit strained if more and more pressure is put on them to fight.

Either way, things are looking as tasty as they ever have at 135 pounds.

Do you agree with Anthony Smith? If we did end up seeing a fight between Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili, who do you think would win? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Aljamain Sterling Anthony Smith Merab Dvalishvili UFC